WELL... as days on the water go... today was one of the scariest... Not because of the weather...(That was as benign as you could get...); and not because we spent the day in the Gulf Stream moving north at over 9 knots... with only 10 to 12 knots of wind, and 1 to 2 foot waves....
SCARY because we nearly lost the engine... We left Lake Sylvia (Port Everglades - Fort Lauderdale) just before sunrise, to make the 0730 bridge opening... then out into in the ocean...to raise all the sails... and head north...
We shut off the engine just after clearing the stone jetty... and totally enjoyed about 3 hours of peaceful sailing up the coast...
The further from the shore we got... the faster we went... (Gulf stream extremely close to shore here)...
Anyway...our friends, Mike and Donna had stopped for fuel, and water...at Port Everglades...so when they caught up (motor sailing)... we turned on our motor, and proceeded to make some real time for Lake Worth... STILL idling our Perkins at 1150 rpm... but we were doing between 8.4 and 9.2 knots (SOG=Speed over the Ground), because of the Gulf stream current.
We idled along so we could make water (RO unit), and charge the batteries (after we watched the CBS morning show (OPRAH on as guest).
We were making great time...and dodging fishing boats, en-route... then about 5 miles from Lake Worth Inlet...my eye just 'caught' a movement from the instrument panel...(I mean gauges never move...right??) WRONG!!! The oil pressure was dropping like a stone!!!!
So..with about 15 PSIG still showing on the gauge, I got the motor shut down...
The sails were still drawing well...and the AutoPilot kept the course... I went to find the problem...
NO OIL in the engine. That was the problem! ...(well very little anyway)...
it was all beneath the motor...YIKES!!! HOW ??? I peaked; I ran cloths everywhere I could think of (considering it was a hot engine)
.. no visible leaks... So.. We decided to sail into Lake Worth...then add oil at the last moment before we had to take sail down, and anchor...and use the motor for about 5 minutes...
That worked... Donna and Mike (s/v MOJO) sailed past us while I was below doing my inspection in the ocean... but came about and sailed next to us..on the way in... In case we needed assistance.
Once at anchor here in Lake Worth...we started the motor (with another 2 gallons of oil), and I immediately found the leak...and the reason it never showed on any engine parts or walls, etc.
There was a 1/16" to 1/8" hole in one of the braided High pressure lube oil cooler lines. AND, this hole aimed straight down into the bilge under the engine...perfectly straight stream of HOT OIL... Found it with my hand...OUCH!
I tried the fusion emergency tape, but the braided nature of the hose, and under these pressures (high) the hose still leaked; Ultimate solution (temporary) was to loop the one good high pressure line around, and bypass the OIL Cooler; (taking the leaky hose out of service).
Whew! Close call... Engine could have been just like the one in the Captain Ron movie...!!!!
Tomorrow we move north again to Fort Pierce with the s/v MOJO, ...then VERO Beach... then we'll sit still for a short bit...we'll be inside then...(Indian River/ Banana River)...
Tuesday:
We left Lake Worth this morning (4/3/2012) on the ebb tide with sails already flying... and the engine running.
Oil pressure stayed steady today with the OIL cooler bypass line taking the pressure. :) NICE!
The forecast said the wind would be light and variable, AND clock around to the east after noon. NOT!!!
It was mostly on the nose all day... We headed for the Gulf Stream right away... but with a north bound current, and a south bound wind... the waves were steep and square. So we headed back toward the shore... and had a slow, but nice motor sail all the way to Fort Pierce Inlet.
I cooked pork chops on the grille, and Mike and Donna (s/v MOJO) came over with their pressure cooker, and did spaghetti... NICE Meal...
Great evening. Tomorrow we might do a little exploring here, ... then motor up to VERO BEACH Mooring field.
Not much to tell about today's trip... wind just off the nose, and 1 to 2.5 foot wave trains.. from the north... Our direction... NORTH!
:) But...that's ok... next week the forecast is for T-storms most of the week. So.. we had to use the good weather NOW!!!
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